Baseball Activities for the Kids and You

What's not to love about a sport where you can sing "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" during the seventh inning stretch, or snag a bag of peanuts tossed by a vendor in the stands? No wonder why baseball is considered America's national pastime-it's one of the most relaxing and enjoyable games to watch. Tickets to major league games can be difficult to obtain and expensive. Try looking for a minor league team, college or high school baseball games or even your local little league for an afternoon of baseball fever. On the other hand, if you dream of warm-up drills and Ball Park franks on the grill-it's time for a neighborhood ball game. Start by gathering the kids and scheduling the occasion; your backyard or a local park. Play a little catch, pepper and pickle, but keep in mind that it is game time the kids really crave.

Pass the ball for fun (Baby and Toddler)

While the older kids are busy with baseball, this is the time to introduce your little one to balls. Designate a sturdy box to be his "ball box" and collect a variety of balls to store in this box. Examples are rubber balls, plastic wiffle balls, foam balls, small rubber footballs, etc. Let your child play with the balls and encourage him to throw the balls to you as if he is a little pitcher. Simple but fun, roll the balls to Baby. He will enjoy sitting straddle-legged across from you as you roll the ball back and forth. Brothers and sisters can enjoy this game too. Knowing that Baby likes playing ball may be quite reassuring to them.

Play ball toss with baby's favorite blanket. Spread the blanket on the floor and place a rubber ball in the middle of the blanket. Show your little one how to hold onto two corners of the blanket while you hold onto the other two. Lift the blanket off the floor, toss the ball up in the air, and catch it with the blanket. End playtime with a fun verse you can teach to your child.

A LITTLE BALL,

A BIGGER BALL,

A GREAT BIG BALL I SEE.

NOW LETS' COUNT THEM.

ARE YOU READY?

ONE, TWO, THREE!!!

Beginning baseball fever (Preschool +)

It's never too early to instill the love of Baseball. For the young preschooler, it's easy to hit the ball from a stand made especially for her. Make a tee-ball stand from household recyclables. Fill the center of an old tire with cement. Place the handle of a plunger in the cement. Let your child place the ball in the upside-down plunger and hit it with a bat. Use a larger "soft" ball for the younger set to prevent those bumps and bruises. Play some games that reinforce the basics; start with running the bases in order. Have the kids yell the base when they hit it and just go all the way around.

Another fun "ball game" is called bottle catch. Ask an adult to carefully cut off the bottom half of a plastic milk jug (half-gallon will do). Now turn the jug top upside down and hold it in one hand. Toss the ball up in the air. Try to catch it in your bottle catcher. Toss it higher each time. As the ball hits the bottle, bring your hand down gently. If you move the bottle catcher in the same direction that the ball is going, the ball is less likely to bounce out of it. Cut another bottle and have a friend play catch with you. Score one point for each catch you make. Play until someone collects 11 points.

Play ball (School Age)

In order to become proficient in baseball, practicing drills helps kids develop the skills. According to Kirby Puckett in his book, "Kirby Puckett's Baseball Games" he says, "I always wanted to excel in all parts of the game, so when I found something I couldn't do, it made me want to work harder. I still do drills every day, and you should, too. That's the only way you can get better." Wiffle ball is an old-time favorite. You use this plastic ball with holes in it. As few as two kids can play just fine in a small backyard or in the park-provided they know the following time-honored sandlot rules. There is no base running. Instead, hits are determined by how far the ball flies-past the pitcher is a single, over that bush-a double, and so on. Use "invisible men" to stand in for base runners, advancing them after each hit. The batter calls out the situation ("Runners on first and second, one out") before each at bat. Use a target, such as a lawn chair or a square drawn on a wall, to call strikes. If the pitcher hits the target, it's a strike; if not, it's a ball. Have a home run fence, if only for the ecstasy of watching the Wiffle ball slowly sail over it.

How about playing Pickle? To play this monkey-in-the-middle game, two fielders throw a ball back and forth from their bases while a runner attempts to steal a base. After three outs, rotate positions.

The game of Pepper requires two or more fielders to spread out in a line facing a batter, about 15 feet away. One fielder should toss the ball to the batter, who in turn hits it to a different fielder. The object is to continue without interruption tossing, hitting and fielding. Players rotate positions every 10 swings or so.

The old standard Catch and Throw has players form two lines and face each other about 20 feet apart. To limber up, they toss the ball lightly between partners. Every few minutes, players should back up a step to build throwing strength and sharpen accuracy.

Now that the drills are finished and everyone is warmed up-it's time to "play ball."

Baseball crafts and things

Indoors, your children can make their own baseball cards. Photograph each child along with baseball props using a Polaroid camera. The children will enjoy watching the picture develop before their eyes. Take a 4" x 6" adhesive label and cut it in two. Hand your child the 2" x 3" label and with a ball point pen, ask him to list the following: name, date of birth, school, favorite movie and television show, hobby, pet's name, favorite food and favorite baseball team. When all the statistics are recorded, your child can adhere the labels to the back of the Polaroid snapshots. Place the label right side up for a personalized baseball card.

Textbooks and school supplies look even smarter when they're under cover. Here's how your kids can customize their book covers with baseball cards. Ask your child to cut along one of the side seams of a brown grocery bag and remove the rectangular base so he/she is left with a long, flat sheet of paper. Match the height of the sheet to the height of the book by making folds of equal width on the long edges of the paper. Lay out the sheet with the folded edges up, stretching horizontally in front of you. Set the book on the paper, right-side up and about 5 inches away from the right side of the sheet. Fold the left side of the sheet up and over the book. Now, trim the edges to about 5 inches beyond the edge of the book. Tuck the two ends inside the front and back covers of the book. Secure them by slipping the book's covers inside the folds. Your child can now decorate the cover by adding baseball cards with glue, rubber cement or tape. For extra durability, cover the work with a layer of clear, self-adhesive paper.

Ball park munchies

Outdoor play and indoor crafts can sure bring on an appetite. Go to the kitchen and have the kids make this Grand Slam Trail Mix for a fun snack. Have them make some for themselves and enough for the little ones too. You'll need: pretzel sticks (bats), mini-marshmallows (baseballs), and bite-size shredded wheat cereal pieces (bases). Combine the ingredients in a large bowl and then serve this mixture in paper cups or in plastic sandwich bags.

Refresh with Slugger Strawberry Slush by placing a 16-oz bag of frozen strawberries in syrup along with two cups of apple juice and about 16 ice cubes. Place all the ingredients into a blender and puree at high speed until the mixture turns slushy. Pour the drink into two plastic sports cups and serve.

Baseball theme movies

When the day draws to a close and it's time to go indoors for the night, why not continue the baseball theme with a good movie? Here is a list of baseball movies to find at your local rental place.

The Bad News Bears (1976)

Field of Dreams (1989)

A League of Their Own (1992)

Sandlot (1993)

Rookie of the Year (1993)

Angels in the Outfield (1994)

Little Big League (1994)

For Love of the Game (1999)

The Rookie (2002)

Sources:

Kirby Puckett's Baseball Games by Kirby Puckett and Andrew Cutelle [1996]

The Ultimate Sport Lead-Up Game Book by Guy Bailey [Education Press, 2001]